Souljourn Yoga books its first Mexico retreat in Tulum for 2027

A Los Angeles foundation has booked its first trip to Mexico as a Tulum yoga retreat in March 2027, with $200 from each registration going to a nonprofit that runs free workshops for local children.

Souljourn Yoga Foundation is calling it Making and Moving. The program runs March 10 to 14, 2027, at Najil Chak, the private art residence outside town, and pairs daily vinyasa led by founder Jordan Ashley, PhD, with botanical dye sessions led by textile designer Erica Kowalsky of Down To Earth Goods.

The announcement matters locally on two counts. Early pricing closes on October 1, 2026. And the money attached to it goes to Los Amigos de la Esquina, known locally as LADLE, a community center that has run free daily activities for children in Tulum since 2017.

Five days at Najil Chak, with indigo dye and a cenote lunch

The group takes the whole property. Najil Chak spans what its owners describe as 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, with six en-suite bedrooms, a wellness and art studio, tropical gardens, a pool, and a fire pit. Frank Wall and the artist Karen Gutiérrez founded it. Three meals a day are provided by the house chef, and group airport transfers are included from either Cancún or Tulum airport.

The residence books the same calendar for weddings, culinary retreats and creative residencies, according to its own listings, and reserves the property for one group at a time.

The schedule alternates movement and making. Mornings go to vinyasa with Ashley. Two afternoons go to Kowalsky's botanical dye workshops, drawing pigment from raw plant material and organic extracts. A third dye session, on indigo, is led by Gutiérrez herself.

Two days leave the property. One is spent with a Maya family on their homestead, with lunch cooked by the hosts and a swim in a freshwater cenote. The other includes a visit to LADLE, where guests share a yoga class and an art project with the children. An afternoon at the beach and an evening bonfire close out the week. Souljourn says no previous yoga or dyeing experience is required.

Prices on the Tulum yoga retreat rise after October 1

Early-bird rates are available through October 1, 2026, starting at $2,500 for shared occupancy and $3,000 for a single room. Both figures cover four nights, all meals, materials for the three dye workshops, transfers, and a bag of products from Mad Hippie and other brands. Flights are not included. Regular rates, which apply once the early window closes, are listed on the retreat page.

At the early-bird rate, four nights come to roughly $625 per night shared and $750 per night single, before airfare.

The $200 line item, and the center in town that receives it

Every registration carries a $200 tax-deductible donation to LADLE. Against the shared-occupancy early bird price, that is 8 percent of what a guest pays. Souljourn is a 501(c)(3) in the United States, which is what makes the amount deductible for American filers.

"Natural dyeing asks the same thing the mat does. Slow down, pay attention," Ashley said in the announcement. "Partnering with LADLE is what makes this a Souljourn retreat."

The foundation frames the money as support for girls' education, its stated mission across ten years, 20 retreats and nine countries. LADLE's own programming is broader: fundraising records published by the center describe Mayan and Mexican children from families who came to Tulum for work in tourism, served through roughly 20 free weekly workshops. Souljourn says the money raised through this retreat is directed specifically to the workshops for girls between 12 and 18, the same group the visiting guests will share a yoga class and an art project with in March.

A corner lot bought for rental apartments, given away instead

LADLE exists because of a change of mind in 2017. Jaime Kohen and Francisco Rocha had bought a corner property in central Tulum to build rental apartments. Kids from the neighborhood turned up while the lot was being cleared and asked to help. Three became thirty. The founders began running simple art activities, concluded that building would end what they had accidentally made, and donated the land instead, funding the nonprofit's first year. Claudia Martínez, who had experience in the sector, joined to shape the project.

That is the room the Souljourn group walks into in March.

Bookings close a month out, and the group size stays open until then

Najil Chak has six en-suite bedrooms. Souljourn does not set a fixed number of guests, because the final count depends on how many people book single rooms and how many share. Bookings remain open until February 10, 2027, one month before departure, so the total amount due to LADLE will not be settled until that date.

The announcement leaves two other things open: whether the community center visit continues past retreat week, and whether Tulum becomes a recurring stop for a foundation that has so far worked in nine other countries. Early pricing closes on October 1. Bookings close on February 10. The group arrives at Najil Chak on March 10, 2027.

What would you want a visiting retreat to leave behind in Tulum, beyond the donation on the invoice? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.